Royals wobble in seventh, fall 5-2 to the Mariners

For a moment, the managerial decisions were secondary. So was a frustrating seventh inning. A loss was just that: a loss.

In the moments after a 5-2 setback to the Mariners on Friday, Royals manager Ned Yost sat inside the interview room at Kauffman Stadium and offered an update on catcher Salvador Perez, who had exited the game after the sixth inning.

“It’s a little more concerning,” Yost said.

Perez had aggravated his right side, presumably while striking out to end the sixth. As his teammates swallowed a loss inside the home clubhouse, Perez underwent an MRI at the The University of Kansas Hospital Training Complex at the Chiefs’ practice facility across the parking lot.

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His status was unclear. The Royals will know more on Saturday. But for a moment, the concern surrounding the club’s franchise catcher put a loss in perspective. Perez has battled side issues — on both sides — on and off for much of the last two months. A stint on the 10-day disabled list could be more detrimental than any one-game performance in early August.

“We’ll know more by tomorrow,” Yost said.

But first, of course, there was a game on Friday, one in which the Royals frittered away an opportunity for a second straight win with a shaky seventh inning.

Yost allowed starter Jason Hammel to start the seventh after six strong innings had resulted in a manageable pitch count. Hammel could not preserve a one-run lead. The bullpen could not rescue him. The formula doomed a Royals club contained by Mariners ace James Paxton and the back end of the Seattle bullpen.

“It’s frustrating,” Hammel said.

As the seventh inning began, Hammel’s pitch count was at 75. The Royals’ lead was 2-1. Yost sought to squeeze three more outs from his starter before handing the game to his pen. But trouble began to brew when Seattle’s Kyle Seager singled and Guillermo Heredia ripped an elevated slider into the left-field corner with one out, tying the game at 2-2.

Moments later, Yost called on recently acquired reliever Ryan Buchter, who was burned by soft singles from Jarrod Dyson and Leonys Martin. The exit velocities on the RBI singles were 71 mph and 67 mph, respectively. Yet each found a soft piece of grass on which to land. The Mariners suddenly had a 4-2 lead.

“The one to Dyson was a little up,” Buchter said. “And the other one was a little in to Martin, but that’s a tough little break right there. You can’t really hang your head too much.”

Hammel (5-9) would take the loss after allowing three runs in 6 1/3 innings. The Royals (56-52) dropped to 3 1/2 games behind the first-place Cleveland Indians after their division rival routed the New York Yankees.

In some ways, the loss conformed to season-long trends. In 21 starts, Hammel had traditionally tired as the game progressed, allowing opponents to bat .350 (21 for 60) in the sixth inning and .320 (8 for 25) in the seventh. Yet Yost opted to ride with a veteran right-hander who has transformed into a reliable performer over the last two months.

In the moments after the loss, Hammel said he did not possess his best stuff on Friday. His command was erratic early. He managed to adjust as the game went on. An array of early contact kept his pitch count low.

“It’s very frustrating because Paxton has a great arm,” Hammel said. “He did a lot of good things today. To scratch out two on him was pretty special. To give it right back is kind of demoralizing.”

The seventh inning was the pivot point. Yet the offense could not break through against Paxton, who surrendered two earned runs in six innings. Unlike Hammel, Paxton’s pitch count was well above 90 pitches after six innings. Mariners manager Scott Servais opted for his bullpen in the seventh.

When the Royals swept the Mariners at Safeco Field in early July, Paxton did not pitch. The schedule offered fortunate timing. In the month of July, he was perhaps the best pitcher in baseball.

In six starts, Paxton posted a 6-0 record with a 1.37 ERA and 46 strikeouts. As he took the mound on Friday, he had not allowed a run in 17 innings. The scoreless streak would last for four more innings as Paxton took a no-hitter into the fifth.

“His ball has got a lot of life to it,” Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield said. “So it’s hard the first time if you haven’t seen him in a while to make any gauge on that heater.”

Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas recorded a sharp single to right with one out to break up the no-hit bid in the fifth. He would score on a two-out single from Brandon Moss, tying the score at 1-1.

In between the singles, Moustakas moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch from Paxton. Moustakas advanced to third when rookie Jorge Bonifacio hit a hard chopper to second base. The wild pitch ended up helping avoid a double play. Moss, who homered twice on Thursday night, continued his productive stretch, dropping a single into left-center field.

Moss was in the lineup because of solid career numbers against Paxton. Bonifacio was back in as left fielder Alex Gordon received a day off against a difficult left-hander.

The Royals grabbed a 2-1 lead in the sixth when Merrifield led off with a double and scored on a wild pitch with two outs. Merrifield had moved to third on a single from Lorenzo Cain before Melky Cabrera grounded out to shortstop against an drawn-in infield and Eric Hosmer struck out swinging. Moments later, Merrifield made a mad dash for home on a wild pitch to Perez — one that barely skipped away from the catcher.

“I knew I kind of had to be aggressive,” Merrifield said. “You see a ball kick away a little bit. You can’t be scared to make a mistake.”

For a moment, the wild pitch provided the go-ahead run. But then Perez exited and the Mariners struck back. By the end, the Royals were hopeful there was just one loss here on Friday.